Cousinly Contention
by Scoffing At Gravity
Summary: Esteban visits Nueva Vista for the first time, and meets Cristóbal. Things do not go well. Pre-canon. Written for EoA Appreciation Week's Day 7 theme: royalty.


**A/N:** Day 7's theme is "royalty", so I figured why not write something involving members of the royal family? Esteban and Elena are about 15 in this while Cristóbal is 14. In the painting we see of young Elena and Cristóbal, he seems a tad younger than her, and I headcanon Esteban and Elena as being born only a few weeks/months apart.

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The hurried introductions and welcome feast didn't leave much time for Esteban to properly meet Cristóbal, Elena's other cousin. Elena and Isabel spent the feast regaling Cristóbal about the happenings in Avalor while Uncle Raul talked business with his sister-in-law. Esteban picked at his food and only stopped when his abuela gave him a look of concern. He forced a smile and shook his head.

In what felt like forever but was surely under twenty minutes, Cristóbal asked his mother if the kids could be excused. He wanted to show off his family's sloops and take them on the deck of one for a closer look. After assurances that they'd be careful and take care of Isabel, all the adults gave their permission.

Esteban lagged behind his cousins and Cristóbal, who were all chattering happily. While Cristóbal had said "kids" and his abuelos encouraged him to go along with the others, he couldn't help but feel like a tagalong. He kicked a stone down the pavement and watched it bounce into a bush.

A tiny voice came from his side as a hand took his. "Esteban!"

Esteban jolted out of his self-deprecating thoughts and glanced down at Isabel. A genuine smile lit his face. "Hey, Isabel." He gave her hand a gentle squeeze.

"You're walking too slow," the nine-year-old whined, "and Elena and Cristóbal are walking too fast."

"What would you like me to do about it?" Esteban grinned, already knowing what her answer would be.

Isabel lifted her arms into the air. "Carry me."

Esteban rolled his eyes and pretended to feel put out. "Ay, there it is! You only want to use me for my strength!" He brought his free hand up to his forehead and let out a dramatic gasp. "I'm wounded."

"No, you're not!" Isabel giggled. "Please, primo?"

Lowering his hand, Esteban looked down at Isabel and sighed. "Not the puppy dog eyes. Okay, fine, but only because I love you." He kept the grumpy act up for a second longer before laughing as he lifted Isabel up in his arms and setting her on his shoulders. "Let's catch up to the others!"

Isabel cheered. The two soon caught up to the others and fell in step behind them. Esteban didn't lower Isabel to the ground until they were stood in front of the docks and staring at the small fleet of sloops.

"One of my tutors taught me how to sail, so I could take us all out on the water if I want" Cristóbal boasted, chest puffing up in pride.

Elena's face split in a grin. "That would be so much fun! Esteban and Isabel both love sailing, right, guys?"

"I don't know." Isabel frowned. "We just got permission to look at the boats. No one said we could take one out."

"It'd just be a quick trip – one small loop, and we'd sail her back in," Cristóbal promised. "If we get trouble, I'll take the blame." His expression became cajoling. "Come on. What do you say?"

The three Flores cousins looked amongst themselves and, after a silent conversation, agreed to the idea. In minutes, the four had worked together to untie the sloop from the dock and pull up the anchor. Cristóbal took the helm, and the other three settled against the railing – Isabel sandwiched between Elena and Esteban.

"You know," Isabel began conversationally, "Esteban knows how to sail, too."

"Oh, yeah?" For the first time during their visit, Cristóbal turned his attention to Esteban.

Elena answered for him. "Yeah, Esteban and I mostly take the same lessons, so he's learned sailing, ballroom dancing, horsemanship – you name it."

Cristóbal nodded in acknowledgment. "Uncle Raul is generous to give your primo a royal education, and let him and your abuelos live at the palace."

Missing the note of condescension in his tone, Elena and Isabel voiced their agreement. Esteban, on the other hand, didn't, but he vowed not to disillusion his primas of their view of the other teen.

"Yes," he agreed, "Uncle Raul is a kind man."

Isabel quickly shifted the conversation to other matters and launched into a story about her latest invention.

Already knowing the story, Esteban kept his gaze fixed on the open water in front of them. Gentle waves lapped at the sides of the boat, and set it into a light rocking motion. A flash of something came from the path ahead of them, and Esteban squinted. It took him a few moments to recognize the mysterious object for what it was, and, when he did, he sprung into action.

"Watch out! Hippocampus!"

Distracted as he was by Isabel's story, Cristóbal didn't notice the baby hippocampus in danger of being mowed down by their sailboat or hear Esteban's cry.

Esteban didn't waste any time running over to the helm. He pushed Cristóbal's hands aside and directed the sloop away from the defenseless animal.

The sudden change in direction caused the boat to tilt sideways. Isabel clung to Elena, who latched onto the railing, and Esteban gripped the helm tight, but Cristóbal fell overboard. It took a moment longer for the boat to steady out, and for the other three to notice their fourth member missing from the deck.

Heart racing, Esteban stepped away from the helm and approached the railing closest to him. He peered down and looked for any trace of the other male. His search didn't take long, and he saw Cristóbal struggling to remain above water. "Hold on, Cristóbal! I'm coming!"

After pulling his boots off, Esteban dove into the water and began swimming in Cristóbal's direction. A few front crawls later, and he was in front of the other. "Cristóbal, wrap your arms around my shoulders. I'll swim us back," he instructed, raising his voice so the struggling teen could hear him.

Cristóbal obeyed without question, and, in less than two minutes, they were up against the side of the sloop.

"Elena, go get a rope, and throw it down to us!" Esteban called out. "Isabel, grab some blankets!"

Elena's voice came from the back of the boat. "Already on it!"

Working to keep Cristóbal up and swim in place, Esteban concentrated on his breathing and waited for his cousin throw down the rope.

"You…almost killed me…because you were trying to save a **hippocampus**?!" Cristóbal's voice rose an octave.

Esteban rolled his eyes. "Don't be so dramatic. If you'd listened when I shouted, we wouldn't be in this mess. You should pay more attention where you're sailing."

"Oh, yeah? Well, you may have a royal education and live with the royal family, but you're still a commoner – a charity case!"

The venomous words struck a nerve, and Esteban felt his blood boil

If Elena hadn't chose that moment to lower down the rope, Esteban wasn't sure what he'd have done. Jaw clenched tight, he shifted Cristóbal off his back and toward the rope. He watched the other climb up a couple feet, and then began his own ascent. Once on board the sloop again, he collapsed onto the deck in exhaustion.

Through slitted eyes, he stared as Elena and Isabel wrapped Cristóbal up in blankets and fussed over him. Cristóbal preened under the attention, and Esteban could hear him prattling on about his "near death" experience. The stream of chatter didn't cease until Cristóbal suddenly looked up with a faux sweet expression.

"Esteban, why don't you show us some more of your sailing expertise?"

Again, either his cousins didn't pick up on the veiled insults, or they chose to ignore it. With the boy's venomous words still ringing in his head, Esteban couldn't think straight. He grit his teeth and nodded. Steady hands guided the group back into the harbor, and the four made quick work of securing the sloop back to the dock.

By the time they returned to the palace, both boys were dry again, and the adults were none the wiser about the events that had occurred. Esteban swiftly excused himself from the proposed game night and claimed fatigue, but, when he retreated to his guest room, his mind was anything but tired. He kept turning over Cristóbal's words. Did his abuelos, Elena, Isabel, and his tio and tia really view him as a charity case? Was it pity that kept him in their lives instead of love?

Bile rose to his throat, and Esteban stifled a sob. He didn't sleep well that night, and, even after they returned to Avalor from Nueva Vista, he found that the question still haunted him. What haunted him further was that he discovered he didn't have an answer.

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**A/N:** Well, that wraps up EoA Appreciation Week for me. I hope you enjoyed! :)


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